COMPARATIVE TREND ANALYSIS IN COST OF PADDY CULTIVATION AND PROFITABILITY ACROSS THREE STATES OF INDIA

Agriculture has seen tremendous changes in the past century, with agricultural research investments paving the way for productivity gains leading to reduction in production costs and capacity to carter larger population. The contribution of agriculture to the GDP is on the decline and so does profitability. Farmer suicides were not a common phenomenon in India before 1990, but more than two lakh farmers committed suicides between 1990 and 2010. The underlying causes for failure in agriculture could be many including climate change, reduction in profitability and fragmentation of land. This article explores the trends in the cost of cultivation of paddy and its profitability in three Indian states of Kerala, Odisha and Tamil Nadu during the period 1999-2011. It is observed that the factors like hired machine and human labor, fertilizer, are all growing in varying proportions leading to an increase in the cost of cultivation. In the years showing profits, Profitability seemed to be averaging around ten percent and while in most of the years loss was reported. Over the years, the increase in cost of cultivation seems to be stable in contrast with the increase in value of paddy produced by farmers. The APM project has appropriately addressed issues of increasing cost of manures through introduction of vermicomposting. Other appropriate techniques and technologies have also been demonstrated for increased profitability. Efforts need to be taken to create an enabling environment to ensure a commensurate income to farmers for a dignified life

ASSESSMENT OF FOOD AND NUTRIENT INTAKE OF COMMUNITIES ACROSS THREE AGRO-BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS IN INDIA

Balanced and adequate nutrition is important in improving the health of the community in general and of vulnerable groups in particular. Assessment of the nutritional status of a community is important for development of implementation strategies and suitable policies. Dietary assessment indicates whether intake of macro and micro nutrient are adequate. Anthropometric measurements and comparisons of nutrient intakes with reference values are easy and non-invasive, economical and sufficiently reliable methods for the determination of nutritional status. The present study uses micro-level data drawn from 24 hours recall diet survey to calculate the mean food and nutrient intake by communities in three agro-biodiversity hotspots. The 24 hours recall diet survey was carried out among households in three study locations during June to November 2013 among the project intervention and non-intervention groups. Information on age, sex, physiological status, physical activity of the household members who took meals during the previous 24 hours was collected for computing consumption unit. The result shows that cereals are the chief source of energy in the study locations contributing 70-80% of the daily energy intake. Mean intake of green leafy vegetable are negligible in the study locations. The intake of sugar and jaggery among the intervention group of Meenangadi is 48% higher than recommended dietary intake, while in the non-intervention group it is 28% higher; and 20% higher among the nonintervention group in the Kolli Hills. The intake of vitamin A is the lowest among other nutrients across the internvention and non-intervention groups in the study locations

Assessment of Food and Nutrient Intake of Communities across Three Agro-biodiversity Hotspots in India

Balanced and adequate nutrition is important in improving the health of the community in general and of vulnerable groups in particular. Assessment of the nutritional status of a community is important for development of implementation strategies and suitable policies. Dietary assessment indicates whether intake of macro and micro nutrient are adequate. Anthropometric measurements and comparisons of nutrient intakes with reference values are easy and non-invasive, economical and sufficiently reliable methods for the determination of nutritional status. The present study uses micro-level data drawn from 24 hours recall diet survey to calculate the mean food and nutrient intake by communities in three agro-biodiversity hotspots. The 24 hours recall diet survey was carried out among households in three study locations during June to November 2013 among the project intervention and non-intervention groups. Information on age, sex, physiological status,physical activity of the household members who took meals during the previous 24 hours was collected for computing consumption unit. The result shows that cereals are the chief source of energy in the study locations contributing 70-80% of the daily energy intake. Mean intake of green leafy vegetable are negligible in the study locations. The intake of sugar and jaggery among the intervention group of Meenangadi is 48% higher than recommended dietary intake, while in the non-intervention group it is 28% higher; and 20% higher among the non-intervention group in the Kolli Hills. The intake of vitamin A is the lowest among other nutrients across the internvention and non-intervention groups in the study locations

Assessment of Food and Nutrient Intake of Communities across Three Agro-biodiversity Hotspots in India

Balanced and adequate nutrition is important in improving the health of the community in general and of vulnerable groups in particular. Assessment of the nutritional status of a community is important for development of implementation strategies and suitable policies. Dietary assessment indicates whether intake of macro and micro nutrient are adequate. Anthropometric measurements and comparisons of nutrient intakes with reference values are easy and non-invasive, economical and sufficiently reliable methods for the determination of nutritional status. The present study uses micro-level data drawn from 24 hours recall diet survey to calculate the mean food and nutrient intake by communities in three agro-biodiversity hotspots. The 24 hours recall diet survey was carried out among households in three study locations during June to November 2013 among the project intervention and non-intervention groups. Information on age, sex, physiological status,physical activity of the household members who took meals during the previous 24 hours was collected for computing consumption unit. The result shows that cereals are the chief source of energy in the study locations contributing 70-80% of the daily energy intake. Mean intake of green leafy vegetable are negligible in the study locations. The intake of sugar and jaggery among the intervention group of Meenangadi is 48% higher than recommended dietary intake, while in the non-intervention group it is 28% higher; and 20% higher among the non-intervention group in the Kolli Hills. The intake of vitamin A is the lowest among other nutrients across the internvention and non-intervention groups in the study locations

Foraged, Trapped and Hunted Foods in Valappur Nadu of Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu

Wild foods found in and around farms, fallows and forests supplement foods and incomes of rural households and have co-evolved with other wild biodiversity. The present study was carried out using a structured questionnaire during February and March 2013 in two villages of Valappur Nadu in the Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu, southern India, lying between 900 and 1100 m above mean sea level, covering a total sample of 40 tribal households. The diversity of wild food species across different food groups – greens, fruits, mushrooms, roots, tubers, birds, bats, rats and their seasonal availability and household consumption pattern were recorded. Greens are available predominantly during the rainy season and fruits mostly during the dry season. Women are mostly involved in foraging greens, mushrooms, vegetables, fruits, while men contribute to the food basket through trapping, fishing and hunting, and children are involved in both. Some of the surveyed households reported that they strongly believe that wild foods are nutritious and contribute to overall health and well-being apart from supplementing food security. The article concludes by viewing wild foods through the lens of food security in its four dimensions – access, availability, absorption and stability – and briefly touches upon some sociological aspects related to wild foods

Strengthening of traditional paddy seed selection practices of tribal farm families with improved knowledge and skills in Koraput district, Odisha

461-470<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";mso-bidi-font-family:="" mangal;mso-ansi-language:en-gb;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-GB">Koraput is known to be a centre of origin and diversity of Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) and recently recognized as one of the agro-biodiversity hot spots in India. Tribal and rural farm families in Koraput raise food crops using local seeds and have a repository of traditional seed selection practices. While farmers have valuable traditional knowledge, there is a lack of support mechanisms and relevant training to enhance their skills in the seed selection process. This paper examines the impact of training on the knowledge and skill of farmers’ with a specific focus on seed selection practices and its management. The study brings out the significance of capacity building of farm families through Training of Trainers (TOT) programme. The impact of training reveals enhanced knowledge, skill and decision making among farmers with regard to seed selection. Pure and quality seeds helped to improve agricultural productivity and ensured household food security. Purified seeds of landraces cultivated in different land categories fetched 30-50 % higher prices. Designation of such farmers as Primary Trainers provides them recognition and a distinct identity in their community and their services made use by the KKRGC and Village Knowledge Centre (VKC). To make the practice sustainable, there is a need for supportive Government policies to maintain and develop traditional seeds in situ and on farm.</span

Factors influencing adoption of farm management practices in three agrobiodiversity hotspots in India: an analysis using the Count Data Model

Sustainable agricultural practices require, among other factors, adoption of improved nutrient management techniques, pest mitigation technology and soil conservation measures. Such improved management practices can be tools for enhancing crop productivity. Data on micro-level farm management practices from developing countries is either scarce or unavailable, despite the importance of their policy implications with regard to resource allocation. The present study investigates adoption of some farm management practices and factors influencing the adoption behavior of farm households in three agrobiodiversity hotspots in India: Kundra block in the Koraput district of Odisha, Meenangadi panchayat in the Wayanad district of Kerala and Kolli Hills in the Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu. Information on farm management practices was collected from November 2011 to February 2012 from 3845 households, of which the data from 2726 farm households was used for analysis. The three most popular farm management practices adopted by farmers include: application of chemical fertilizers, farm yard manure and green manure for managing nutrients; application of chemical pesticides, inter-cropping and mixed cropping for mitigating pests; and contour bunds, grass bunds and trenches for soil conservation. A Negative Binomial count data regression model was used to estimate factors influencing decision-making by farmers on farm management practices. The regression results indicate that farmers who received information from agricultural extension are statistically significant and positively related to the adoption of farm management practices. Another key finding shows the negative relationship between cultivation of local varieties and adoption of farm management practices

Growth and characterization of urea-oxalic acid crystals by solution growth technique

Single crystals of urea-oxalic acid (UOA) have been grown from aqueous solution by slow evaporation technique. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the grown crystals belong to monoclinic system having space group P21/C. The presence of functional groups was confirmed by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Optical absorption studies show very low absorption in entire visible region and the UV cut-off is found to be around 240 nm. Thermal analysis studies were carried out using TG/DTA analysis and the grown crystal is thermally stable up to 180 °C. Dielectric constant studies confirm the ferroelectric property of the materials and very low dielectric loss reveals very high purity of the crystal